development of firearms

Practical shoulder-fired small arms started with the perfection of the flintlock ignition system in the mid-17th century. Earlier gunpowder small arms, based on the matchlock or wheel lock mechanisms, were generally too heavy, too unreliable, or too expensive to allow for general issue to infantry forces. Indeed, the first matchlock...

...cartridges. The weapons were first mounted on helicopters but afterward appeared on tripods and armoured vehicles. On these mounts, grenade-launching machine guns such as the U.S. Mark 19, firing 40-millimetre rounds, and the Soviet AGS-17, shooting 30-millimetre projectiles, frequently replaced or supplemented .50-inch heavy machine guns.